Wild Goose Chase
by Random-1985
Summary: Castle wakes to a note, Kate Beckett has gone. Has she really left him or is something else going on? The last chapters have now been posted.
1. Chapter 1

_**This is just another story I came up with. It has multiple chapters which have all been written. I just need to go through and edit them to make sure it all makes sense. **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters. **_

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The morning sun was making its way through the blinds and onto the bed causing Rick Castle to stir from his sleep. He reached over to snuggle into the woman sleeping next to him only to find the bed empty. And judging by the cold sheets, it was like she hadn't been there for quite some time.

It was unusual for Beckett to leave without waking him first, so he expected she would be coming round the corner and back into his room within minutes.

She often woke early and did some yoga before going into work. Castle tried to join her a couple of times, but just found that he got distracted watching Beckett which then distracted her and they would both end up doing their own form of yoga back in his bedroom. He liked those mornings, but today, he thought he would let her have the time to herself. He glanced at the clock beside the bed and saw they still had just over an hour before they had to leave for the precinct, unless a body dropped of course.

Castle took his time in waking up, wiping sleep from his eyes. He knew Kate would want a shower after she had finished her yoga so he decided to quickly jump in before she needed it. After a quick shower, he wrapped his robe around himself and went through the door to his room expecting Kate to be waiting for the bathroom. After looking around the room, she was still nowhere to be seen.

"She must be enjoying her morning yoga session today," he thought to himself, deciding to go check on her himself and to say good morning.

The one thing he looked forward to every morning was seeing Kate's smiling face as he gave her a good morning kiss. The mornings they didn't see each other until he reached the precinct were the hardest. Due to Gates not knowing about them, they had to hold out until they left the precinct and they had some privacy. But he didn't have to worry about that today, because Kate stayed with him last night. Their sleepovers had become more and more frequent over the past few weeks. They were together almost every night, and Castle couldn't imagine it being any other way.

He walked out of his bedroom, and into the study and was surprised that he couldn't hear any music or noise. It was only then that he realised something wasn't right. When he made it out of the study his thoughts were confirmed. Kate was not doing yoga. She wasn't there at all.

He went back to his room and realised her clothes she had on the previous day had gone, along with everything that she put on the bedside table. Had she really left without waking him up? He couldn't believe it. He walked over to his phone, there were no messages or missed calls so she must have left him a note somewhere in the loft to tell him where she was going.

Rick made his way into the kitchen and found the note that he had been looking for. But it did not say what he expected it to say. He picked it up and read it to himself.

_"Rick, I'm sorry. I can't do this anymore. I need some time to myself. Please don't follow me. Kate"_

That was it. No explanation. Nothing. Just a note saying she can't do this. What was "this" exactly? Was she talking about their relationship? He thought it had been going so well, what did she mean she needed time to herself? Had he pushed her too far too fast? He thought she was in the same place as him in this relationship. He always asked her to make sure, and never pushed an issue with her. He couldn't understand where this was coming from. So many questions ran through his mind.

He thought back to the night before. Maybe he had said something. If he did, he couldn't think of what it could be. They had just caught their guy after a long case and were extremely tired. She came home with him to his loft, had a glass of wine, and then went to bed. There were no arguments and she didn't seem distant or anything. Everything seemed fine. So why was she suddenly unsure?

Rick was a worrier, but he was going to follow her wishes. Pushing her would not help so he decided to call the boys at the precinct, and ask them to look out for her, make sure she was okay.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Esposito's number.

"Hey Castle," Esposito answered.

"Hey Javier," Castle responded. "I have a favour to a.."

"A favour?" Esposito interrupted. "Where are you taking Beckett now? What do you need me to keep from Captain Gates this time?"

"I'm not taking Beckett anywhere, I was actually just calling to make sure she was okay. She left me a note this morning and told me not to come in today."

He didn't want to say exactly what was in the note, he just needed to make sure she was ok.

"Beckett's not coming in today. She emailed us this morning and said she was taking a few days off. She needed some personal time. I figured you were taking her somewhere but she couldn't tell Gates."

"No. Javier, she's not with me today. Did she really just say she needed personal time?"

"Yeah"

"In the 4 or more years that I've been working with you guys, I have never seen Kate take any personal time off, something must be wrong. Can you go to her apartment, and check on her."

"You don't want to go yourself?"

Castle sighed. It looked like he was going to have to tell Javier more than he wanted to.

"Her note said she needed some time alone, she didn't want me to follow her. I don't want to completely ignore what she asked. So, do you think you could go?"

Javier laughed through the phone. "Sure Castle, we'll go. I think Beckett will be surprised to hear that you are actually doing as she asked for once."

Rick gave a nervous laugh, "yeah, well, thanks Espo."

"No problem. I'll tell you as soon as I know what's up"

With that, the men hung up.

Castle was starting to worry. The woman he loved had gotten up in the early hours of the morning, left his house, leaving him just a very short note and had emailed the precinct saying she wasn't going to be there for a few days. Something was definitely not right. He couldn't just wait for the boys to respond. He decided to call her father.

Rick looked on his phone for Jim Beckett's number, and gave him a call.

Jim answered within just a couple of rings. Castle asked if he had heard from Kate, which he hadn't. He also asked if the dates held any particular memories for her to do with her mum but Jim couldn't think of anything.

After a few minutes of questions, Jim started to get worried himself.

"Richard, where is my daughter? And is she ok?" he asked.

"I don't know sir. She left me a note saying she needed some space, but I'm worried. I've sent the boys to check on her at the apartment. I'm sure everything is fine."

"You'll let me know if something has happened won't you?"

"Of course, Mr Beckett. You'll be the first to know."

"Thank you"

Castle hung up his phone and waited. There wasn't much more he could do. He's called the boys, he's called her father. Neither of them know what's going on, so she must be at home. The thought of her home alone fighting with whatever she was going through worried him. He knew that she loved him, she'd never said it, but he could tell by the way she looked at him, and by the way she spoke to him that she did. There was no doubt in his mind that she would come back, but he couldn't rush her. Esposito and Ryan would be with her soon and they would at least be able to make sure she was okay.

After what felt like hours, Castle's phone began to ring. It was Kevin Ryan, Esposito's partner. They had arrived at her apartment, but no one was there. Beckett didn't answer the door, so they had used the spare key she had once left with them at the precinct. They had looked through the house but there was no sign of Beckett anywhere.

"It doesn't look like she's been here for days Castle," Ryan said with a grin. "Where has she been?" he said wiggling his eyebrows at Esposito jokingly.

Hearing the smile in Ryan's voice, Castle got a little irritated. "This is no time to joke. Something is wrong. Kate is not here, she's not at home, and she hasn't gone to work. Her father hasn't heard from her and it's just not like her to just disappear. Something is wrong"

"Sorry Castle."

"Look, I'm going to try calling her phone. You guys look to see if you can find something there to let us know where she could be."

Castle didn't even wait for a response, he immediately hung up his phone and called Kate's number. The phone didn't even ring, it went straight to voicemail. Her phone was off. He didn't want to waste time leaving a voice mail, he wasn't even sure Kate would get it, so he hung up and dialed the only other person he could think of that Kate would have spoken to if she really was taking some time to herself.

He called Lanie.

"No, sorry Castle, she hasn't called me this morning. I heard that she was taking a few days off, I thought you were taking her to the Hamptons again or something." Lanie stated over the phone.

This was not looking good. Castle had called everyone he could think of, there was no sign of Kate anywhere. Something had happened to her, someone had taken her, there was no other explanation. He picked up the note she had left and took it with him to the precinct. He was determined to find out exactly what was going on.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Well, this has already received more attention than I expected. I don't consider myself a writer, it's just something I've found myself doing these days to keep myself busy.  
**_

_**So here is the 2nd part to the story.  
**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters. **_

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When Castle arrived at the precinct, he walked straight up to the boys desks and asked them if they found anything.

"We've got nothing Castle," Ryan had said. "She's probably just driven herself out of the city and her phone is out of range. She'll be fine. This is Beckett we're talking about. She left a note, there's no evidence of foul play anywhere."

Castle slammed the note down on his table. "This is the note? This is all she left,, and your emails say she needed some 'personal time'. Honestly guys, something is up. I just know it is."

"I wish we could help you, but Gates isn't going to let us go on a wild goose chase. Look at all this paper work she's given us, apparently it's not up to her standard and we have to go through it all. But if you can convince Gates that there is more to Beckett's personal day than we think and she allows us to help, then we're with you all the way, man! Beckett is family, we want to make sure she's okay just as much as you, but all the signs we see say that she has simply taken some time out"

"Well, I'm off to talk to Gates," Castle says, picking up the note and feeling quite annoyed that the boys were not as willing to help him as he had thought they would be.

He stopped suddenly in his tracks and looked down at the note he was holding in his hands. If he showed this to Gates, their relationship would no longer be a secret. But if he didn't show it to Gates, then as far as she's concerned, Beckett is simply taking a personal day. The note may not say much, but he knew the email alone was not enough to convince Gates they needed to look for her.

Castle stepped into Gates' office without even knocking. He didn't even think twice and just walked right on in.

"Why Mr Castle, I wasn't expecting to see you today. Beckett is not in today, I thought you would be staying home."

"That's why I'm here sir. Something is up! Beckett left early this morning, leaving me only this note." He placed the note on Captain Gates desk and continued. " Then I found out she emailed you and the boys saying she is taking some personal days and now she's not at home, her father doesn't know where she is, and she hasn't spoken to Lanie or any of us, and her phone is off. Something is wrong sir!"

Captain Gates had picked up the note and was now looking up at Castle.

"You said, Beckett left early this morning and left you this note."

"Yes"

"And where exactly was she leaving from?"

"My loft."

Captain Gates raised an eyebrow, which Castle knew was her way of questioning him for more information

"Detective Beckett and I, yes we have been," he paused, unsure of exactly what word to use to describe their relationship. "We have been dating. We should have told you but, that's not why I'm here right now. I just need you to let the boys help me, we need to find her and make sure she is okay."

"Mr Castle, sit down"

"I'd prefer to stand."

Gates gave him a look, which almost frightened him, and so he took a seat.

"I know that I spend most of my time in this office Mr Castle, but don't forget, I am a detective just as much as any of the guys out there. I have known about you and Detective Beckett for some time. You think your flirty smiles, extended handshakes and all those looks you give each other go unnoticed? Well I've noticed. And I haven't said anything because as much as I disagree with you being allowed here, I have seen what a great help you have been to the team, and as long as you and Beckett keep it professional in the workplace and do not let your relationship interfere with her work then I am not going to interfere with your partnership. However, in regards to this note, it appears to me like your relationship may be doing just that , interfering with her work. It seems to me, that your relationship is the cause of these suddenly required personal days."

"No, you're wrong. Something is wrong. She's not taking a personal day. Something has happened. I know it has. She didn't tell anyone where she was going, it's not like her."

"I seem to recall a case where you and Beckett didn't tell anyone where you were going, so it seems not telling people things is something Beckett does often."

"And we almost got eaten by a tiger. So isn't it right that we should be worried? Even so, this is different, you have to believe me. Something is wrong, she hasn't just gone off to find a lead or something, she has disappeared. Just let the boys help me out, and I'll help them with the paperwork. You know how much I hate paperwork, but that's how much I need this right now." Castle begged with everything he had, he didn't care how unmanly he seemed.

"Mr Castle. I cannot allow my men to go on a wild goose chase. When and if you find any evidence of anything other than Beckett going to have some personal time away then you can come back. Until then I do not wish to see you back in my office."

Castle picked up the note from the desk and stormed out of the office. He wasn't going to stand by and wait knowing that Kate could be hurt out there somewhere. He would do his own investigation if he had to.

He walked past the boys and made his way straight over to the elevator without stopping. He jabbed his finger on the button with such a force that for a second he thought he may have actually broken it, but he didn't care. When the doors opened, he got in and without a word to the boys, he left.

"He does not look happy," Ryan stated.

"You know, I'll admit Castle has a wild imagination, but I think he could be right. Something just doesn't seem right about all of this," Esposito said. "Look, I'll get a start on this paperwork or who knows what Gates is going to do. You go to Castle's loft. See if we can help him out. I'll cover for you. Just find something and don't be long!"

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**Please review if you'd like. Any feedback is welcome, positive or negative... just go easy on me. **

**We'll find out soon where Beckett is.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Thank you to the couple of people who have reviewed this.  
**_

_**Well, I said I would tell you what had happened to Kate... so here we go.  
**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or any of the recognizable characters. **_

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As Kate woke blinking her eyes open, it was still extremely dark in the room. It must have been in the early hours of the morning still which left her plenty of time to sleep still. She moved to cozy up next to the writer sleeping next to her but, only then did she realise she had only one hand free. The other had been cuffed to the bed.

"That's strange, I don't remember Rick doing that to me last night," she thought to herself.

"Castle! What are you doing? Really? Cuffing me in my sleep?," she said expecting that he was sitting somewhere watching her.

There was a silence.

"Castle? What are you up to? Seriously?"

Still there was silence. It didn't take Kate long to realise that maybe this wasn't what she thought it was.

"Rick? Are you here?"

When she had no response for the third time, she started pulling at her arm trying to free herself from the cuffs causing them to dig into her wrists and cut her skin leaving them stinging. She stopped and stayed still, if she couldn't get out, she could at least try and find out where she was. But how was she going to do that in the pitch-black room with no way of moving anywhere. She decided if she stayed quiet long enough she might be able to hear traffic or people. If she heard people near by she thought she would be able to scream loud enough for them to help her.

She lay silently for a few minutes when suddenly she heard something. It wasn't voices outside. There was someone in the room with her, she could hear them breathing.

"Castle?... Rick?... Is that you? Are you okay? Are you hurt?." She asked, worrying for the man she loved.

Again, there was no response.

"Castle, if this is some kind of joke, this is not funny!" She didn't know whether she should be scared or angry. She had no idea what was happening.

She sat up as best she could on the bed with her hand cuffed to what she could only guess was the bed head. If Rick had done this, he would have given in by now and said something or turned the lights on…. Either that or he would have tried joining her in the bed. But Kate slept with her gun next to her, so Rick would know better than to try something like that now.

"My gun!" Kate thought and took her free hand to feel beside her for her gun or for at least, the bedside table, but it wasn't there. She was definitely not in Castle's bed.

Suddenly, she was hit with a beam of light from what must have been a flashlight, and then a second beam came, almost blinding her.

"Detective Beckett, good morning," she heard a voice say.

Without even thinking the first thing she heard leave her mouth was, "What have you done with Castle?"

Right then she realised that he really was the most important thing in her life. She wanted to make sure he was okay before she even thought about her own safety.

"Castle is fine."

"I don't believe you. Who are you and where is Castle?" She raised her hand to try and block the light, but it was difficult with the two flashlights shining directly in her eyes.

"Who am I? Now now Kate, that's not how this works. I can't just tell you who I am, where's the fun in that?"

"Just tell me where Castle is," Kate said between clenched teeth while pulling as hard as she could on the cuffed hand.

"He's probably at home, reading the note that you left him."

"What note?" Kate said angrily, giving up on trying to get free of the cuffs and simply worrying about what this crazy woman's plan was. If she was close enough, she would have used her feet to swipe the torch from her hands, but Kate had no idea what she was dealing with. She didn't know if there were weapons in the room and wanted to be free of the cuffs before she found out. She couldn't see a single thing due to the light that was shining directly in her face. "What have you done? What note?" she said a little quieter. The more information she had, the better.

"Oh, just a little note that's going to plant doubt in his mind about your relationship, a little note that says you don't want him anymore, telling him that you are leaving and you don't want him to follow," the woman said with a malicious tone to her voice.

Kate could not believe what she was hearing.

"He's not going to believe a single word of it, he knows me better than that," Kate stated.

"I don't know about that. You and I both know that he's been very careful around you, he knows how fragile you are in this relationship. It wont take much to convince him that he pushed too hard too fast, and that you are in fact leaving him."

"You honestly think your little note is going to end our relationship. Rick does not give in that easily. After four years of following me and waiting for me, do you really think that's all that's needed for him to give up on us. Whatever your plan is, it's not going to work."

"Oh Kate, you really believe in him don't you. You must really be in love with him. Too bad you weren't strong enough to tell him. But you see… I'm not afraid to say those three words that you were too chicken to say."

"So… your plan is to kidnap me…"

"Which I have done successfully," said the woman sounding extremely proud of herself.

"Then you're going to trick Castle into thinking I don't love him, and you're going to tell him that you do?" She paused almost laughing at how ridiculous this plan seemed. "And you think that he's going to come running to you?"

"Yes. This is Richard Castle we are talking about, he'll come running to any woman that says they love him, as long as you are no longer in the way."

"Well, then you don't know Richard Castle. He's not like that. Maybe if you did that a few years ago, but he's not that man anymore."

"We'll see about that, won't we," the lady said turning one flashlight off and dropping it onto the floor.

Kate watched as the woman walked away around a corner. It sounded like she had walked up some stairs, the room was lit up briefly but not long enough to get a look around, and then it was pitch black again. She was left alone in the darkness, left with only the bed she was cuffed to and her own thoughts.

Kate thought this must be one of the blonde bimbo's from Castle's past that has come back for him. The whole plan just sounded ridiculous, something that had just been thrown together without thought, this was definitely not a well planned kidnapping, but then after realising that this woman had in fact succeeded in the first part of her plan, she decided that maybe she wasn't such a bimbo.

Beckett then started thinking about just how much Castle had changed. He really was a different man. Why was it that she was so afraid to tell him that she loved him? She couldn't really answer that question. Up until now she really hadn't admitted to loving him, even to herself. She knew she did but she would try and ignore those feelings in order to stop herself from getting hurt, she'd never felt so strongly for anyone else and she knew the moment she admitted or acknowledged these feelings, the chance of being hurt, if things didn't work out, increased. So, she'd kept her feelings hidden, and only now admitted to herself that she was in love with Richard Castle. She almost laughed her self. Kate Beckett, who was not afraid of anything, was afraid to tell her knight in shining armour that she loved him. How ridiculous was that?

And he really was her knight in shining armour. He was always there to save her, she couldn't have asked for a better partner. Well, maybe just one that listened when she said to stay in the car. She would so often worry about him as he followed them into a building, they all had vests but Castle, being just a writer, was not armed like the rest of her team. She would always feel a sense of relief when they made it out without him getting hurt. But now, she was here, he was out there on his own and she knew that he was going to chase this. Suddenly, all her thoughts were starting to worry her again. She needed to get out of there before Castle did something stupid to get himself hurt.

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_**So silly me, made changes (corrections) to some parts and was happy with it, but then pressed the wrong button on my keyboard and lost those changes. I think my changes the second time aren't as good, but oh well. It'll do. **_

_**Again, feel free to review or leave me notes. Do you think she'll escape and how? Is the evil woman dangerous? Will Castle bust in and save her? Or, if you just wanna say hi... feel free to say hi in the comments :) I love friendly people  
**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Thank you again to everyone who has commented on this story. I'm glad you are enjoying it, and I hope I don't bore you with it.  
**_

_**Disclaimer: Castle does not belong to me, although I wouldn't mind if he did.  
**_

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Castle walked into his loft and hung his jacket over the back of a chair as he walked through to the kitchen.

Feeling defeated from getting nowhere at the precinct, he decided he would make himself a coffee then get straight into his own investigation. He walked to the cupboard and pulled out two mugs instinctively. He had not had a coffee alone in a while, it had become a habit. Looking in his hands and noticing he only needed the one mug, he breathed out a huge sigh.

"Maybe if I make her coffee, I wont feel like I'm in this alone," he thought to himself. "But who am I kidding, I am in this alone"

"And I am going to get to the bottom of it," he said out loud and determined.

Putting one mug back he looked around the loft, hoping that he would notice something out of place, something that Kate may have left for him to find, but there was nothing. Nothing was out of place. It all seemed normal.

He'd just finished making his coffee when there was a knock at the door. Castle didn't want visitors, so he tried to stay silent in hopes that the visitor would go home thinking there was no one there. But they knocked again, and he heard Detective Ryan call through the closed door.

"Hey Castle, it's Ryan, open up,"

Castle thought suddenly that maybe him and Esposito had found something or had heard from Beckett, so he just about ran for the door almost tripping over his own feet, but managing to steady himself.

He pulled the door open in an instant, "did you find something? Where is she?"

"No Castle," the detective said as he pushed through the door. "But I'm here to help. What can I do?"

"I don't know. I don't even know where to start. Honestly, there's nothing out of place and nothing is missing. Only Kate. Kate is the only thing that's missing."

"So she was here last night? Start there and we'll work this out."

"Yeah, she was here, and then she wasn't," Castle responded, taking a seat next on the sofa and motioning for Ryan to do the same.

"Well, did she say anything or did anything seem out of place last night."

Castle started running through everything that had happened the night before in his head again. Reliving what he was trying not to imagine as his last night with Kate.

"Well, by the time we had closed the case last night and left the precinct it was probably about 10:30. We came straight here from there, so we arrived before 11 sometime and nothing was out of the ordinary. Alexis is at college and mother is in the Hamptons for the week, so no one was home. The door was locked as usual and nothing seemed out of place. Kate was fairly exhausted but thought we would have a glass of wine together before heading to bed," he recalled.

"After a case like we had this week, I think we all needed a glass of wine last night," the detective interrupted.

"Yeah," Castle said, letting out a small deflated and breathy laugh.

"So you had your glass of wine? Then what?" Ryan questioned.

"Well, I was half way through my glass when Kate had finished. We were just sitting curled on the sofa here talking. It wasn't long before she had just about fallen asleep on my shoulder, so I picked her up and took her to bed."

He purposely left out the part where he had helped her change her clothes, while she practically slept in his arms. He folded her jeans and shirt in a pile and pulled one of his own t-shirts over her head before laying her down. Then placing kisses on her head, nose and gently on her lips he had tucked her under the blankets. Those moments were personal, and didn't need to be shared with her fellow detectives. And besides Kate was pretty much out of it, Castle was sure she wouldn't remember it.

"Once I was sure she was settled, I came back out here, finished my wine, took the glasses over to the sink and then went to bed myself. I must have been tired too, because I'm pretty sure I was asleep within minutes of laying myself down. It's strange though, I didn't feel that tired when I got back. That wine just knocked me out."

"And that was it last night? So what happened this m…" Ryan stopped himself mid sentence, taking note of Castle's expression. He was deep in thought.

"The wine," Castle stated. "Somebody must have drugged the wine."

"Was the bottle open before you had some last night?"

"Um.. no," he said defeated once more. "Maybe it wasn't the wine. Unless they drugged us once the wine was in our glasses."

"Castle... That would mean that someone was in your house while you were here. Did you see or hear anyone? Did you ever leave your drinks alone?"

Rick tried to remember every thing that had happened that night. He was struggling to remember everything exactly as it happened. There wasn't much to remember but, he knew he was missing something. He put his head down and hit his head with the palm of one of his hands as if it was going to knock a memory into his mind.

"Yes!" he suddenly called out. "We were both away from our glasses for a few minutes."

"So both you and Beckett left your drinks alone in this room?"

"Yes, we took them from the kitchen, and placed them on the coffee table, I was ready to get comfy on the sofa when something flew out of nowhere and hit Kate right in the eye. I thought it must have been a bug. Whatever it was, Kate said it stung her eye and she needed to go wash her face to make sure there was nothing in her eye. I have to admit, I thought she was over reacting to a little bug in the eye but, the way she kept winking at me…"

He saw the smirk and heard a little giggle Ryan tried to hide.

"No not that type of winking…". Ryan's smirk quickly disappeared.

"As I was saying, she was winking because her eye was stinging and she thought it would help. So although I thought she might have been over reacting, I didn't say anything as she went to the bathroom. After a couple of minutes I wanted to make sure she was ok. So that's when I left our drinks here and nobody was in the room for a few minutes. I went to check on Kate, and watched as she washed the last of her make up off, then we came back out to our wine."

He again, didn't mention the personal moment they shared in the bathroom, and he hoped that the look on his face didn't give it away either. He had watched as she removed her left over make up. He loved seeing her fresh, and free of any make up. It was his belief that Kate Beckett looked more beautiful without it than she did with it on, but he knows better than to try and argue that with her when she's getting ready in the morning. While Kate had dabbed her face with a towel, Castle had come up behind her, wrapped his arms around her stomach, pulling her back into his chest and whispered tender, loving words in her ear, telling her how beautiful he thought she was. She had spun around and captured his lips with hers and they got slightly carried away for a few minutes before going to back to the sofa where their wine waited.

"Ok, well that's enough information for me. Castle, I believe you when you say something's not right. Both Esposito and myself do, but I can't make any promises that we're going to find anything that will convince Gates to let us help you more. She's a tough one to crack!"

"I know," Castle responded, happy that Ryan was willing to do what he could.

"You wouldn't happen to have those glasses would you? Or did you wash them already?"

"Actually," Castle answered. "I haven't washed them. I was going to do that this morning, but then with everything that's happened, I never got round to it."

"Right, ok, well if you can get me those glasses and the note that was left here. I will take them to the guys at the precinct and get them to look for traces of drugs and prints. Prints alone may not be enough but if we find any remnants of drugs in the glasses well then Castle, we'll send a team over to search your place."

Rick got up and found the glasses and note, gave them to the detective and thanked him for his help.

"And Castle, we'll find Beckett. She's going to be okay," Ryan said patting the writer on the shoulder. "I'll call you as soon as we get anything."

And with that Ryan was back out the door leaving Castle alone in his loft.

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_**And so now the search begins... will they find Kate?**_

**_Until tomorrow..._  
**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Thanks again for the new reviews and follows :)**_

_**Ritika.. Here's my response to your questions. Some of my chapters are shor, I probably could extend some, so I'll see if I can do that with any of the future ones, however, some I think need to be short so it doesn't get too boring :) Also, I had thought about putting in more teasing from Ryan but with the situation, and Castle being worried the way that he is, I imagine Ryan would cut back and stop himself from teasing until they knew exactly what was going on. Lastly, no they haven't said those three words yet. I thought I had put that in there somewhere, but maybe I didn't and just thought I did. **_

_**Anyways, here we go again. We'll find out more about Kate and what the boys are up to.  
**_

_**Disclaimer: As much as I would love to take Castle home with me, he doesn't belong to me, and neither do the other characters.  
**_

* * *

Kate had been left alone, in the dark room, unable to move due to being cuffed to the bed head. She knew there had to be a way out of this situation and she was determined to find it. With no light entering the room, she had decided in her head that she must be in a small basement room with no windows, and the only entrance or exit must have been up some stairs, which she heard her captor climb earlier. Not knowing where she was, she could only hope that once she got out, if she could get out, there wouldn't be people guarding the door.

But for now, she couldn't even think about guards at the door, she had to get out of the cuffs. And sitting on the bed thinking about taking action, but not actually taking action was not going to help.

She looked around her... It was pitch black. She laughed inwardly at herself for even expecting to see something. Then she remembered, the flashlight. It had to be in the room somewhere, she'd heard it drop to the floor. But where would it be and how would she get to it. If she could just get to the flashlight she would be able to look around the room, and choose her next move, maybe find something to help her get out of the cuffs. She had hoped that the woman had left the key in the room but, she knew the chance of that was very small. She had to find that flashlight.

From all the pulling on her wrist she had done earlier she discovered that she did have a little bit of room to move. The cuff seemed to be attached to a long horizontal running bar on the bed, which meant she could move from one side of the bed to the other. She reached down with her uncuffed hand to the floor but she could only just reach the floor on one side of the bed and leaving her without much room to search with her hands.

"My feet," she thought to herself. She always thought she was very handy with her feet, now was the time to put them to the test.

She dangled both her feet down the side of the bed and started her foot search. The thought of mice and rats crawling along the floor made her snatch them up quickly. The last thing she wanted was rats nibbling at her toes.

"Do you want to be stuck here?" she questioned herself. "No, I want to get out! So who cares about possible mice or rats."

Was she going crazy? Talking to herself in her head. Maybe a little. But staying too long in a pitch-black room with no one around and unable to move far, she thought almost anyone would end up a little bit crazy.

She slowly lowered her feet down again and continued the search for the flashlight. She was reaching out as far as she could when she felt something. She didn't know what it was, but it sure felt like it could be the flashlight. It wasn't furry so she knew it wasn't a rat, which she was relieved about. Using her toes she rolled the object closer to the bed. And then using both her feet on either side of the object she lifted it up.

She was very careful not to drop what she had between her feet, still unsure whether it was indeed the flashlight she had been looking for or something else. She was extremely thankful for the yoga she had been doing, it was really helping her concentration and keeping her core strength working for her.

It was quite awkward, and she could feel the cuff on her wrist digging in once again, but she was determined not to let it bother her, so she thought about Castle and the times they had used cuffs for more fun activities. As she let her mind drift, she no longer felt the pull on her wrist, but her loss of focus almost caused her to drop the object in her feet.

She had to stop thinking of Castle, although it meant feeling the pain in her wrist again, she knew it should only be a short moment until she'd be able to get more comfortable again. Well, as comfortable as she could get. She had lifted her legs level with her body on the bed, she couldn't quite reach down to her feet with the cuff restricting her movement, so she planned to bring whatever it was she was holding across to the bed and then roll it closer to her hands. However, as she started to bring her feet closer and above the bed there was a loud bang, which caused her to lose focus and she dropped whatever she held in her feet back down on the floor next to the bed.

A small amount of light had entered the room briefly and she heard someone coming down the stairs.

"Detective Beckett, I hope you are behaving yourself and not trying anything stupid down here!"

* * *

Castle had spent almost two hours wandering back and forth in his loft searching for anything, any little clue that could tell him where Kate was. He tried to find places people could hide, he looked for furniture that could have been slightly moved. He had even gone into his mothers' room and searched there. It was something he always told himself he would never do, but he had to find Kate so that meant ignoring the uncomfortable feeling searching his mothers' room brought about.

It was while he was upstairs looking in Alexis' room that his phone rang. Upon looking at the phone and seeing who it was, he answered immediately.

"Have you found something? What is it? Have you heard from Kate? Is she okay? What's happening?" he asked, running through all these questions without saying hello. He just wanted to know what was going on.

"Whoa Castle! Well I may have had to bribe a few people in the lab to get things done, but I have managed to get the wine glasses tested and they are looking for fingerprints on the note now," Ryan answered.

"And…" Castle said feeling slightly impatient.

"And, you were right. It seems there are remnants of some sort of drug on your glasses. We're still doing tests to see what else we can figure out but, this was enough proof to get Gates on our side so Esposito can help us. There's a team on their way to look for more prints and to get everything they can from your loft, Esposito should be arriving with them, and I'll be there shortly."

Castle didn't know whether to feel happy or sad about the news. He was happy because it meant he wasn't wrong. It meant that Kate didn't just up and leave him this morning, it meant that she did care for him, it meant that he still had a chance at happiness with her… if they found her. That was what made him feel sad. Knowing they had been drugged meant someone else was involved. Someone else has his Kate and he had no idea what they wanted with her. He didn't know where to find her or how to find her and even if they did find her, he knew she could be hurt or even worse dead.

"Thank you," Castle said, not sure what else he could say at this point, and then remembered detective Ryan mentioning he had to bribe people. "So, what did you bribe people with? I don't think I've ever known the lab to speed things up this fast for anyone."

"I may have told them that you would lend your Ferrari to them. Don't worry Castle, it's only the guys in the lab, it's not the whole precinct."

"And just how many people are in the lab?" Castle asked.

"Oh, sorry Castle, I've gotta go. I'll see you at your loft soon. Bye"

And with that, Ryan hung up the phone.

Castle sighed, he may have just lost his Ferrari for a few weeks while the guys in the lab drove it round, but if it meant he was closer to getting Kate back, he'd lend it to them time and time again.

Castle went back downstairs knowing there would be a team at his loft any minute. Sitting down on a chair at his dining table, he pulled out his phone again. It was time to break the news to Kate's father. This was not going to be an easy conversation, but he knew he had to do it.

"Castle? Are you calling about Katie?" Jim asked.

"Yes," Castle said trying not to sound too sad, but not filled with joy either. "I'm afraid something has happened, it looks like she's been kidnapped."

"What? Kidnapped?"

"Yes. I've been searching all morning trying to put things together. We've got a team of guys, great guys, who will be here any minute to start looking for prints, for any sort of clue as to where she might be or who might have taken her."

He didn't want to sound defeated. The last thing he needed was for Jim Beckett to start worrying. He needed to instill some hope in him, let him know that everything will be alright, that they are looking for her and they are determined to find her alive and well.

"So, she was taken from your loft? How can that happen? Isn't it a secure building?" Jim asked.

"Well, yes, I thought it was one of the most secure buildings in the area, but it seems I must have been mistaken. There's a lot of cameras in the building, surely one of them has caught something. We'll find her, don't you worry about that. And I'll let you know whenever we find something."

"Well, is there anything I can do to help? This is my little girl we're talking about here. I can't just sit back and wait for your phone call. I'm coming to help you."

"Mr Beckett, really, we can't have too many people in the loft right now while they're doing all their tests and things. I promise you I will let you know if there is anything you can do."

"Right, well, I'll be by my phone waiting. Please find my daughter. Just when she was beginning to let herself feel free and happy, this happens. I just hope it doesn't cause her to hide away again."

"I will find her. And I wont let her hide away again... ever!"

"I'm sure you wont, Castle. You helped her find it, I know you wont let her lose it," Jim said.

Castle heard a quick knock at his door. "I think the team is here now, I have to go. I'll call you as soon as I can."

"Thanks. Find my girl."

"I will," Castle said before hanging up and answering the door.

Esposito was followed into the loft by the forensic team who immediately got to work searching for fingerprints or for anything that could help them find Detective Beckett.

Esposito sat down with Castle and asked another round of questions, about what had happened from the time they got home the night before, to this morning when he woke up. Castle told him everything he had told Ryan earlier. He didn't mind repeating everything again if it would help find her. He knew the boys probably hadn't seen each other since Detective Ryan had been to see him earlier.

Detective Ryan arrived about fifteen minutes after the forensic guys. He told Castle that prints had been found on the note other than his own, but they didn't appear to be in the system, which felt like a punch in the stomach to Castle. Without the fingerprints in the system he didn't feel they were any closer to finding Beckett than they were without them. He just hoped the forensic team would find something.

* * *

_**A.N So funny story... while I was writing the part about Beckett, I was actually trialing things. Thanks to dressing up as Beckett for a party, I had my own plastic toy cuffs, so I used them to cuff myself to the bed.**_

_**I'm not really sure I'm 100% happy with the part at Castle's loft. I could probably have extended it but, I didn't.  
**_

_**We'll find out more about "the woman" in the next chapter, and if there has been any further development or evidence found in Castle's loft.  
**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Welcome to the newcomers who are now following... and thank you. I didn't expect such a good response. Honestly, I thought 2 followers was good for me. English was never my strong subject in school... so I was under the impression that I had no idea how to actually write a story haha**_

_**So here's the next chapter... I still don't own Castle. All I own is the DVD's which are currently packed in a box, and waiting for me to move house.  
**_

* * *

Kate's captor walked back into the dark room this time with a lit candle to place in the room.

"So Detective Beckett," she said placing the candle in what appeared to be a corner of the room. "I hope you are enjoying your stay here," she snickers.

Kate refused to respond, and just sat staring vacantly at the woman who she could now see a little due to the candle light. Although she couldn't see enough to really describe the woman, she was sure going to try and remember everything that she could about her so when she got out of there she would know exactly who to come back for with her partners from the precinct.

The woman was of an average height, was not slim but she didn't look overly large. Kate could see that there was some muscle toning in her arms, she obviously worked out. Realising this and knowing that there would potentially be a physical fight coming in the near future, she still wasn't worried at all. Kate had taken down others who had appeared much larger. Her hair was cut extremely short, shorter than Kate had ever had hers, and it looked like she had some sort of fringe that was resting over her right eye. Other than that she couldn't really see much more of the woman. She couldn't really see much of her facial features, but could see her eyes were filled with hatred. This woman hated Kate, which had obviously come from Kate being with Castle.

"Just going to sit there staring at me, are you?" the woman asked after some time.

"Yes," Kate responded.

"Come on, Detective Beckett. Play with me. Surely you have more to do and say than that?" she teased.

"Fine. Who are you?" She wasn't sure what she'd get out of her, but she was sure going to try and get something.

"No, no, no! You've tried that one before, I can't tell you that."

"Where am I?"

"You haven't figured that out yet?" the woman said, moving closer towards Kate's face, and speaking softly. "Isn't it obvious your cuffed to a bed in the basement of a building? Surely, you can figure it out, detective." The way she said detective was said with disgust and slightly challenging. This woman, whoever she was, was trying to get Kate to bite back.

The woman moved forward getting closer and closer to Beckett when suddenly Beckett took her free hand to swipe at her captor. Unfortunately, with her other arm cuffed to the bar of the bed, her moves weren't quite as smooth as she had hoped and the woman caught her arm in her hand. She held on to her wrist so tight that Beckett felt her hand go limp and then the woman threw her arm back towards her letting out an evil laugh and walked back towards until she was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed staring back at Beckett.

"Really… what are you trying to do? You know, I don't want to hurt you. I just need you out of the way for a while. But if you try something like that again, I may have to do something to stop you. You don't want me to have to cuff your other wrist to the bed as well do you?"

"I still have my feet," Beckett said through gritted teeth. "You'll be surprised at what I can do?"

"I have no doubt that there is great strength in you. But, I'm the one with the power here. I know where we are, I know what surrounds us, and I can increase the number of cuffs holding you in place. I thought I had been kind in allowing you some room to move, but if you do not appreciate that, I have plenty more cuffs hidden away."

"Keep cuffing me! You know I'm going to get out of here. By now you probably have the entire New York City police force looking for me. And they wont be afraid to take you down," Beckett said trying to put some fear into the woman.

"The entire police force?" the woman let out a single puff of laughter. "I don't think so Beckett. They think you have just taken some time off. You needed some space. Time for yourself. A personal day."

Kate was doing her best not to show a single ounce of fear, even though she could feel some of it creeping in. She didn't want to seem vulnerable to this woman who had captured her. So as she spoke, she kept staring at this woman in the eyes, never letting her own drop or fall elsewhere. She could see it was working. Whoever this woman was, she couldn't keep eye contact. She kept letting her eyes fall to other places in the room. Kate knew then that she was stronger willed than her captor, and she wasn't going to give in to her.

"A personal day?" Kate questioned. "No one is going to believe that. I don't take personal days. Trust me, they'll be looking, and you don't want to be around when they find me. My team is my family, and they will do anything to make sure I'm safe. So, if I was you, I'd watch your back."

The woman pushed off the wall she had been leaning against and started making her way to the stairs.

"If I was them, I'd be watching theirs," she said, walking towards the stairs. "To show you how nice I can be, I'm going to leave the candle here in this room with you, so you have some light, but don't try anything or it'll be gone and you will see just how nasty I can be. Now, I'm going to go check on **my** man to see how he's doing. I'm sure he would have found your note by now and is need of some comfort."

Kate watched her as she walked up the stairs and out of the room. Alone again, she looked around the room. The candle gave just enough light to get an idea of what was around her. The room was quite small, the walls appeared to be bare and the only way in and out appeared to up the stairs as she had expected.

In one corner of the room Kate spied a small pile of clothing, which resembled the outfit she was wearing the day before. Looking down at what she was wearing, she found she was in an oversized t-shirt. She didn't remember putting it on herself, but she knew it was one of Rick's so decided that he must have helped her into it himself. The thought of him changing her while she was practically asleep in his arms made her smile, and brought warmth to her heart. She was not going to let this woman get away with what she had planned, she wanted more of those moments with Castle, even when she couldn't exactly remember the moments, she could imagine them, and they were so amazing and loving. Castle was a great man, she considered herself a very lucky woman to have him and she wasn't going to let anyone or anything take him away from her, not after she they had waited so long to get to where they were in their relationship.

She remembered when she had got those jeans, just two days ago. It was one of the rare occurrences when she let Rick buy something for her. They had been shopping together and he wanted to treat her to something, but she wouldn't allow it. When she had tried on these dark skinny jeans though, she could see he liked what he saw as he watched her model them for him in the store. He couldn't keep his eyes off her and she could have sworn he was almost drooling, just like the puppy dog he is. They were really comfortable jeans and she could have bought them herself but it seemed that buying these wouldn't just be for her, it would be a gift to him as well, so she let him pay for them.

Then she thought about how she had walked out of the bathroom in them yesterday and again Rick could not take his eyes off of her. She loved how she could have that affect on the guy. He was so easy to torture without her needing to put in any effort at all. Sometime in the middle of the day, he was unable to keep his hands to himself any longer and he had pulled her into the break room. He had closed the blinds and door, and pushed her against the wall, let her hair down and kissed her fiercely, giving in to a brief moment of passion but having to pull away much too soon, knowing that they could have been interrupted at any moment.

That's when she remembered the bobby pins she probably still had in the pocket of her jeans. When Castle had pulled out her hair, a couple of bobby pins went flying, she had picked them up and placed them in her pocket before leaving the break room. It was possible they were still in the pocket of her jeans. They could have been her escape from the cuffs. She just had to figure out how to get to the clothing.

* * *

The forensic team had finished in Castle's loft and had gone back to the lab to test anything that they found. They really didn't have much to go by, they had some prints, but there was no guarantee they would bring up anything different. They had told Castle they couldn't guarantee prints found on anything would bring them any leads. They had already determined the prints on the note belonged to someone who was not in the system. There only hope was there was a partner who was in the system and they had picked up their prints in the apartment.

Castle didn't want to lose hope though. He would not let their doubts become his doubts. He was certain they would find something that would lead them to where Kate would be. It was now late in the afternoon, Kate had been taken possibly 12 or more hours ago, it was difficult to know as they didn't know what time she had been taken from the loft.

Once Ryan and Esposito had finished questioning the other residents in the building, they made their way back up to Castle's loft.

"Are you sure they checked check all the rooms?" Castle asked.

"Yes. They did. They were thorough. You watched them the entire time to make sure," one of the boys answered.

"I know. I just can't help but think that Kate is out there someone, hurt, confused, unsure and waiting for us to come barging through the door to save her. She would know that we're looking right? What if she thinks we're not looking for her. This is Kate Beckett we're talking about. She's going to try something to get herself out and she's going to get hurt. I couldn't live with myself if she got hurt. She was taken from my loft. I should have protected her. I should have kept her safe."

"Castle, you've done everything you can. She's going to be fine. Beckett is a strong capable woman. She knows how to handle herself," said Ryan.

"You can't blame yourself for this Castle. Someone drugged you both. We're going to find her, and then we're going to get that son of a bitch that took her," added Esposito.

"Come on then, let's get back to the station and see what we can find."

The boys followed Castle out of the apartment and down the elevator to the lobby of his building. As Castle stepped out of the elevator, something stopped him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a very small zip lock bag sitting near the wall. Small enough to fit a tiny amount of powder. Was it possible that whoever had taken Kate, had dropped this small piece of evidence?

"Hey, do you guys have gloves. There's a small bag here. It could be the kidnappers, for the drugs that they used. This is what we need. This is going to help us find Kate," Castle said, pointing at what he had seen.

"Castle, I doubt anyone would be that stupid to drop evidence like so close to your loft," Esposito said as he put his gloves on and pulled out an evidence bag.

"But you'll take it anyway, it may have something to do with Beckett, or it may not, but we wont know unless we check. Maybe it'll have prints of a drug dealer, we can find out who sold the drugs which will lead us to who bought them. Right guys?"

Castle reached the door and held it open for the person entering, and then waited while Ryan and Esposito made their way out.

"Yes Castle, it's possible, I'm just not sure. We've found basically no leads here, I just feel like this guy is smarter than you think.

"He was stupid enough to take Kate and think that we would fall for the little note they left. I don't think they're all that smart Espo… and you know I just want Kate back, so let's take this and keep looking" he stated closing the door behind him and walking out into the street back to Ryan's car.

* * *

_**More to come tomorrow...**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**I have decided to treat you with 2 chapters today... 7 & 8... partly because 7 is shorter than others and partly because, I'm just feeling nice today :)  
**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.  
**_

* * *

As the woman made her way to the entrance of Castle's loft building she could see the detectives and Castle talking. Castle she expected to see, but the detectives were a shock to her. What were they doing talking to him? Castle opened the door and waited for her to enter. She didn't want to attract any attention to herself so she walked over the elevator, pressed the button and waited. She was relieved to see that the elevator had obviously gone up a few levels since the boys had gotten off. This gave her just a little bit of time to see what was going on, and how her plan was working.

What she heard was not what she had expected.

Castle had not fallen for her plan at all. He hadn't believed the note, and he wasn't just searching for Kate himself, it appeared he had the NYPD team looking for her.

"Maybe Detective Beckett was right," she thought to herself. "Maybe Castle believed in the relationship he had with Kate more than I thought he did."

The doors opened to the elevator and she entered just as the men were leaving.

"What am I to do now? I need to come up with a new plan. This is not going right at all."

She still had time though, at least she thought she did. She had been very careful in setting everything up, she had planned it for weeks. Had studied everything she could about the building, knew where cameras were so she wouldn't be seen and had even gotten to know the doormen fairly well. She had managed to convince them that she had a good friend she was visiting in the weeks prior to her plan going into action. To the doormen, her visits did not seem out of the ordinary anymore.

When she had walked in, one of the detectives said they had not found any leads so she knew she was still safe. She was just going to need maybe a little more time with Beckett out of the way. But right now she needed to get out of the building and back to check on the detective she had left alone.

* * *

Kate had remembered about the bobby pins in the pocket of her jeans but she still hadn't figured out how she was going to get over to them to get them out.

With the little bit of light that was still in the room from the candle, Kate had been able to tell that the bed that she was on was not of high quality, and seemed fairly lightweight. If she went about it the right way, she was pretty sure she'd be able to move the bed closer. She wasn't sure how to pick up the clothes once she was close enough, she may have had to use her feet again, but she was going to take things one step at a time, starting with moving the bed.

She knew it was going to be awkward and slightly risky. Her captor had left her alone but she had no idea of time or how long she had been gone, or when she would return. She also still didn't know if there were others who knew of her presence down in the basement who were there to make sure she didn't escape. No matter what, she decided moving the bed at this point was her only shot at getting free.

Kate moved across to one side of the bed and placed her feet on the ground. She had just enough movement to be able to stand next to the bed, but couldn't move any further away from it. To move the bed she had to turn her back to the direction she was going. She placed her free hand on the railing near her cuffed hand and pulled. Slowly but surely the bed started to move, scraping across the floor in tiny movements making a horrible screeching sound along the way.

She kept at this for a few minutes inching closer and closer to her clothes, she was almost there when she heard the woman come back and make her way down the stairs.

There was no way Kate was going to be able to make it look like she was not trying something, she had to think quickly.

"What are you doing?" the woman questioned angrily.

"I was cold, and I saw my jeans. I was hoping to be able to put them on. This t-shirt isn't exactly warm," Kate answered. It was the best response she could come up with, and she hoped that it would not only explain the bed movement but she also hoped the woman would just give her the clothing.

She still wasn't sure what to expect from her captor. She really didn't know if the woman was going to hurt her, she seemed to be all talk. In her head, Kate had come to the conclusion that this woman was most likely a lonely woman who had decided to make her dream world a reality.

The woman walked over to the clothes on the floor and picked them up.

"Fine!" she said as she threw the clothes at the detective, not realising that she was now helping her captor get free.

She seemed angry. Kate realised that things obviously had not gone as planned, Castle obviously hadn't believed the note, as she had expected. She knew he must have been out there looking for her. For a brief moment, she smiled, knowing that the man she loved was out there searching for her, but then she realised once again that in doing so, he could be putting himself in danger, and that smile was replaced with a look of worry.

She picked up her jeans and slipped them over her legs. Pulling them up with one arm proved to be difficult but she managed, she slid the zipper up but was unable to do the top button with only one hand. This didn't bother her, she had her jeans and that's all she wanted. Now she just needed to be left alone again so she could check for the bobby pin in the pocket.

The questions running through her head were pushed aside by Beckett. She didn't want to question the woman who already seemed angry, and although she had been told she wasn't going to get hurt she knew that when things don't go as planned… plans can change. So, she sat silently in hopes that the woman would just get up and leave again. She was quite surprised she had been left alone so much during the day already, so she didn't think it was too much to expect that she would be left alone again.

After sitting in silence, without saying a single word to one another the woman finally spoke.

"I'm going to get food," she huffed out. "I'll bring you something back so you don't whinge about being hungry next."

* * *

_**Chapter 8 coming soon...**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Thanks again to all followers and reviewers. I came up with another story idea last night so I might start working on that one next week. Not sure exactly how it's going to go yet, so I think I shall have to story board some ideas. For now... let's continue with this one...  
**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters. **_

* * *

Back at the precinct the boys and Castle were still waiting for results on their findings from Rick's loft and building.

Castle sat in his chair, next to Beckett's desk just staring at the empty chair, wishing there was something more he could do. He just wanted to reach out and touch her, tell her everything is okay. He wanted to **know** she was okay.

He looked over at Ryan and Esposito who were both at their desks searching for anything and everything. They had no leads to go on but they decided to go through their computers and find any possible dealers that may have worked the area near Castle's loft. So far they had nothing, they had just had a major drug bust not long ago and almost all the dealers in that area were caught or had obviously stopped dealing in fear of being caught. They were at another dead end.

The detectives both knew there wasn't much more they were going to be able to do that night. It was getting late, they had no idea how much longer the lab technicians would be and every minute that passed they saw a little bit more hope lost in Castle's eyes.

"We gotta get him out of here," Ryan said quietly to Esposito.

"Man, he's not going to go anywhere until we find Beckett," Esposito responded.

"I know, but he's a mess, do you know how long he has sat there just staring at her chair? He needs to rest. He needs to be home in case something turns up there."

When Esposito turned his head to look at Castle's seat he was no longer there. They hadn't seen him get up and had no idea where he had gone.

Looking around the precinct they saw him making his way to the break room.

"More coffee," said Esposito.

"Poor guy, I can't imagine how he feels right now. I know I wouldn't be coping if someone had taken Jenny from the bed while I slept beside her. It's creepy. I'd do everything I could to get her back. We've got to get Beckett back."

They watched Castle from a distance as he helped himself to another coffee. They weren't sure how many he had already made today. Most of the ones he had made in the last few hours had gone cold while he stared at Beckett's empty chair.

"Hey Ryan," Esposito said looking back at his computer again. "I just got an email with the video footage from Castle's building. I'll start taking a look, you see if you can convince Castle to go get some rest."

Ryan made his way to the break room as Castle was walking out. Castle wasn't looking where he was going, just simply looking down at the ground. He was defeated, no idea what to do or where to go, but he didn't want to leave the precinct. He couldn't go back to his loft without Kate by his side.

He stopped just outside the break room when Ryan approached him.

"Hey Castle, I know this is hard, but we can't do much right now. We've got nothing to go on. The guys at the lab are working as fast as they can but, I really think you need to get home and rest. We've just been emailed video footage from your building. Esposito is looking through it now."

"I can help." Castle interrupted.

"No Castle. We've got this. You need to go home, just in case something turns up there. Sometimes these people return with a note, or they'll leave you something more to tease you. We wont know unless you are there to find it, they could leave something vital for us to find Kate, and if you're here it's going to delay our response if they do leave something."

"I can't go home without her Ryan. I don't want to go home without her," he said with tears welling in his eyes.

Ryan didn't know what to do. Seeing Castle like this was not something he ever expected. He was usually the bright, bubbly, overly optimistic one, telling stories and making up theories but right now, he was just crushed. He didn't have any theories or stories to make it all seem okay.

The detective placed his hand on Castle's shoulder, "We are going to find something Castle. Esposito and myself, we're going to find something. And we're not going to leave until we know where she is and she is back safe and sound. When we get her back, do you think she is going to want to see you like this? Worn out and ready to collapse. No. She's going to want the strong, happy, excitable little writer-boy…" he saw Castle pull a face, "or writer-man, that she loves. You need to go home, get some rest and I promise you, we will call you as soon as we know something."

Castle didn't want to leave but he just had nothing left in him to argue. His hope was fading. His mind was filled with possibilities of what had happened, but none of them ended well, and each time he thought of a new situation, it too, ended badly. He just couldn't fight the feeling that she was hurt somewhere.

He didn't argue with Ryan. He simply nodded, picked up his jacket and made his way to the elevator. As he stepped in, he looked back at the boys who were now both huddled around Esposito's computer looking at the video footage.

"Hey guys," he called out. "Please don't give up" he called at them as the doors closed.

He was leaving the precinct, but he wasn't going home. He was going to search high and low for Beckett even if it meant he was walking all night. He wasn't going to sleep until he knew she was safe.

* * *

As soon as Kate knew she was left alone in the room she felt in her pockets for the bobby pins she hoped were still there.

And much to her delight, they were. Two bobby pins sat in the front right pocket. Reaching in, she pulled one out. Now she just had to figure out how to pick the lock on the cuffs. With only dim light she couldn't see the quality of the cuffs, she just hoped that they weren't her police cuffs. If they were, there was no way a bobby pin was going to get her out of them. Only a key would work on her police cuffs, not matter how good she was with locks.

She held the bobby pin in her hand feeling around for the lock. Once she found it, she went to place the pin into the hole, but as she did she fumbled and it flew away from her.

"Damn!" she said out loud.

Luckily, there was another bobby pin in her pocket so she pulled it out ready to try again.

Kate was shaking, she was nervous, if this didn't work, she had no back up plan. She just had to sit and wait in hopes that someone would find her.

"Get a hold of yourself, Kate," she said to herself. "You can do this, you've picked locks before."

She took the bobby pin and felt around for the entrance to the lock. This time she managed to get the bobby pin right where she needed it.

After about twenty minutes trying to pick it, she was ready to give up. She had sweat dripping down her face out of pure frustration because she had not been able to unlock it.

Then she thought about Castle, seeing him again and knowing he was okay. She just wanted to get out and tell him that there was nothing that could make her want to leave him. She wanted to tell him exactly how she felt, she wanted to say those three words she had been too afraid to say before all this had happened. She wanted him to know she loved him, and she wasn't going to be able to do that if she didn't get out of those cuffs.

Her thoughts of Rick were enough to bring back enough determination to keep trying for another ten minutes, just as she was about to give up, she heard a small click and the cuff around her wrist was free.

"I did it!" Kate thought to herself. Now I just have to get out of here.

She quickly did up the button on her jeans and made her way over to the stairs. There was just enough light to see the door at the top.

Placing one foot on the first step, she halted. She still didn't have any idea what was passed that door. Would there be guys on the other side guarding the door? Could it be booby-trapped? She had no weapons, just herself, and she hadn't eaten all day that meant she was feeling a little less strong that she usually would. After just a few seconds of thought, Kate decided it was worth the risk. She would just go through and hope for the best. If someone had actually been guarding the door she figured she wouldn't have actually been left in the room by her self at all during the day. The woman would have sent someone down to watch her.

She quickly made her way up the stairs, hoping that she had enough time to get out before her captor came back. She unlocked the door and stepped out finding herself in an old abandoned building just as she had been told.

Looking around she saw a garage door. That was her way out. She ran to the door, opened it enough to roll out underneath and then closed it behind her.

When she made it out onto the street she received quite a shock. All this time, she hadn't really been far from everyone. Further than she would like to be, but close enough to walk. One of her favourite restaurants was just across the road. This was great news, it meant she could get to the precinct, grab the guys and get back to catch her captor. She could have waited herself and attempted fighting the woman, but without knowing what she was capable of, it would have been a risky move, and she wouldn't have any back up. Without money to hail a cab, she started making her way on foot to the precinct_._

* * *

_**Well Kate's free... but where where is her captor? Where has Castle gone since leaving the precinct? And have the boys found anything?**  
_

_**You'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out :)  
**_

_**Review if you feel the need :) Thanks for following  
**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Thanks again to all for your support with this story :)  
**_

_**Disclaimer: I still don't own Castle...  
**_

* * *

The woman paid for a couple of containers of food for her and her prisoner. Picking them up from the counter she made her way back outside, opening the door with her back. But as she turned to head back to her hide out, a tall and handsome looking man bumped into her causing her to lose her balance and she dropped all her food on the floor.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Castle said holding out his hand to help the lady off the floor. "I wasn't looking where I was going. That was totally my fault."

The woman smiled as he held out his hand. "What a gentleman," she thought. Taking his hand she allowed him to help her stand back onto her feet. "It's okay," she said trying to put on her best flirtatious smile. "I was too busy looking at a nice looking man inside, I didn't think that I'd find an even better one out here."

"Oh, well, um… thank you, I guess, for the compliment."

"My pleasure," she said, winking at Castle.

"Oh goodness me!" thought Rick. "Is this woman really flirting with me?."

"How about we go back and get you some dinner, I'll buy since I was the one who knocked you over spilling the last lot you bought," he said feeling like it was the right thing to do.

"Oh, no you really don't have to do that," she said, touching his arm.

Castle really didn't like the way this woman was behaving, but he knew it would be rude to just leave her to pay for more food when it was his fault that she needed to buy more anyway.

"No, look, it's really no problem at all. I made you drop this lot here on the floor, I'll replace it," he said as he opened the door to the take-out restaurant.

"If you insist," the woman said re-entering the building and again smiling flirtatiously.

Castle felt this woman standing extremely close to his side as they waited to be served. There was something a little bit creepy about the way she kept staring at him.

"I now know what Kate means when she says the staring is creepy," he muttered under his breath taking a step to the side.

"Sorry, what was that?" she asked.

"Oh, um, nothing. Look it's our turn, what did you order last time?"

The woman reordered dinner and watched as Castle paid. He walked out of the little shop and hailed a cab for the woman. Opening the door for her, she stopped in front of him just before climbing into the cab.

She reached out for his arm and asked, "Do you want to eat with me?"

Castle could not believe this woman. She just didn't stop. Surely he was never that creepy with Beckett. He made note of it to ask her when he found her, which is where he should have been now.

"Sorry, I've got to go. My girl..." he paused. "My wife, I need to go find my wife. She disappeared this morning, and I just need to go find her."

He decided to say wife in the hopes that it would stop the woman's advances. He only had eyes for Kate, and at the moment, that's the only person his eyes were looking for.

He could see mentioning the word wife had surprised the woman slightly. She immediately let go of his arm, and climbed into the cab.

"Oh, okay." She said surprised and closed the door to the cab.

"When did they get married?" She thought to herself. "Why didn't I read that in the paper? And why hasn't Detective Beckett mentioned it? This could be much harder than I thought." She gave the cab driver an address and they drove off.

Castle turned around to see the cab was just taking off down the street, thankful that he had gotten away from such an insane woman. Now he could go back to searching for Kate. He had to admit, having referred to Kate as his wife to the stranger, excited him. The thought of them one day marrying and living together brought a smile to his face. Maybe they'd have a couple of kids running around them, or maybe it would just be the two of them growing old together. Whatever Kate wanted, he wanted. All he really wanted was to make her happy for the rest of her life.

He started his journey back down the road. He'd basically just been walking without a plan, and so he decided he would continue to do so. He hoped that he would know when he was close, hoped that something would seem unusual and he'd know that Kate was near by. He knew the connection he had with Kate Beckett was strong enough to feel even when they were apart and that would lead him to her.

He found himself walking down many dark alleys and passing a lot of old buildings, each step taking him further away from the precinct and even further from his loft, but he didn't care. His loft was the last place he wanted to be if Kate wasn't there with him.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the precinct Ryan and Esposito had started looking through footage that had been sent to them from Castle's building unsure if they were going to find anything. It was difficult when they didn't have an exact time. Beckett could have been taken any time between 11:30pm and about 7am the next morning. They had to go through hours of footage from multiple camera locations.

They were shocked when suddenly they saw what appeared to be a woman slung over someone's shoulders time stamped 2am in the morning. That was it. That's what they needed. Kate Beckett, who appeared to be asleep or knocked out, was being carried out by another woman. She had managed to stay out of the way from all the other cameras and must have used a back entrance to get Kate out of the building but sure enough, they had found what they were looking for.

They printed the picture and headed straight down to the car. Esposito climbed into the drivers seat and started making his way to Castle's loft while Ryan rang him to tell him what they'd found.

"Ryan? Did you find something?" Castle answered.

"Yes. We're coming to get you now, we'll be at your loft in about ten minutes."

"Oh, um, I'm not there. I somehow ended up on the other side of the city."

"What? Castle! How did you end up there?" Ryan asked.

"I don't know," Castle responded.

He knew exactly how he ended up there, he was searching for Beckett, and the two detectives knew it too, but nobody said anything about it.

Castle told the guys where he was and they told him to stay put, they would come and pick him up and take him back to the precinct. They had to figure out their next move which would involve looking for her picture from any previous cases. Being able to put a name to the face would be a great first step.

It wasn't long before the boys reached Castle, and he climbed into the back of the car. They explained to him what they had seen on the video and that they had found out what the lady looked like. They told him they did not have a name, but they hoped they would be able to find something on the system once they got back.

"Well, do you have the picture?" Castle asked, somewhat impatiently.

"Oh yeah, here," Ryan said handing the paper back to Castle.

When Castle saw the picture, his eyes grew wide like he had just seen a ghost.

"This is a woman? A woman took Kate? And… oh… my…"

"What Castle?" the boys asked simultaneously.

"I know this woman. I just paid for her dinner not long ago. I… What… I just… seriously?"

"You know this woman, Castle? Who is she?" Esposito questioned.

"Oh well, I don't exactly know her. I bumped into her in the street, knocked food out of her hands. So I replaced it, then put her in a cab. I knew there was something weird about her. She kept trying to flirt with me, but it was so over the top it was just plain creepy. Really? Seriously? She took Kate. And I bought her dinner. I can't believe it."

"Wait, Castle… stop! Go back a bit. You mentioned a cab," one of the boys said.

"Yes, as creepy as she was, I was a gentleman and made sure she got a cab to get home safely."

"That's great Castle. We might not need a name after all. We just need to know where the cab picked her up from, and we'll call he cab companies to find out where they dropped her off. If she has Kate, she'll know where she is. We're just a minute from the precinct. I'll call the taxi company while you and Esposito take a quick look in the previous files see if you can find out who this woman is," said Esposito turning on his lights and racing back to the precinct.

* * *

_**There were so many different ways this story could go, but this is what I went with so I hope you're not disappointed. We shall find out what is happening with Kate soon.** _


	10. Chapter 10

**_I have a suprise... due to my nexs 3 chapters being short, I have decided to post them all today. Plus, I have been moving the past 2 days which means tomorrow I need to do LOOOTS of work and may not have time to update. So here you go...  
_**

**_Disclaimer: Nope, no Castle ownership here :)  
_**

* * *

As Kate made her way to the precinct she tried to stay as close to the buildings as possible. She had no idea where her captor was and if she happened to pass she wanted to make sure she wasn't seen. At times she hated that the city was so busy but right now she was thankful for it. It made it easier to walk to the precinct unnoticed.

She had thought about catching a cab because it would have been faster and much easier to hide from the woman that would soon be looking for her but without her wallet or police badge, it was going to be difficult to convince a cab driver to take her anywhere. So she continued her walk.

Kate still wasn't sure exactly what her captor had looked like which is what made the hiding even more difficult. She had an idea of her physique but when it came to facial features, she was never really able to see her properly in the candlelight. A number of the women on the street could have been the one that had kept her hidden away all day.

Whenever she saw a woman who appeared to have the physique of the woman who had kidnapped her, she would duck behind the closest object or run to hide behind a person as they walked by. Her actions did result in some curious looks from passers by but, as long as she didn't attract the attention of the wrong person she really didn't care what others thought.

She turned the last corner and seeing the entrance to the precinct within reach, she couldn't help but plaster a huge grin across her face. She couldn't wait to run into the elevator and go find Castle. She was pretty certain that he would be there, it wouldn't matter how late it was, she didn't imagine he would go home without knowing where she was.

It was strange the amount of excitement she was feeling, it was like she hadn't seen him in months when it was really only one day. But, when you've been kidnapped it makes all the little things that you normally take for granted seem all that much more meaningful. The smiles, the glances, the coffee's, and not forgetting the morning kiss she was so used to receiving now, all the things she received daily, seemed that little bit more special.

As she got closer, she started thinking of Ryan and Esposito who were sure to have been with Castle all day trying to find leads to find her, and she had to admit she was pretty excited to see them too. She practically ran the rest of the way to the building, and headed straight to the elevator, not even stopping long enough to say hi to the person sitting at the front desk. Right now, all she wanted to do was run into Castle's arms and tell him that she loved him.

She reached her floor, with a gigantic smile on her face she stepped out of the elevator and looked over to her desk. Castle wasn't there and her smiled dropped a little. So she looked over to where Esposito and Ryan's desks were, no one was there either. Her smile dropped a little more. The break room was empty and so was Gates' office. The boys weren't there, and Castle wasn't there. Her smile was now gone completely. For a short moment she was filled with sadness. They weren't looking for her.

She walked over to Esposito's desk to see what they had been last looking at. Finding a bunch of paper and notes, she couldn't really figure out what any of it meant, so she thought she would check his computer. Luckily, Kate had figured out Esposito's password some time ago. Nobody was aware that she knew it, not even Esposito himself, but one day she knew knowing it would come in handy. She typed in the password and a picture popped up on the screen which made her gasp.

There in front of her was a picture of her sleeping body being carried by her captor through Castle's building. They hadn't stopped looking for Kate, that's exactly what they were doing right now.

She was going to call the boys to tell them where she was but she suddenly realised that not only had she not eaten all day, but she also hadn't used the bathroom, and it seemed now that she felt less in danger it was all catching up with her. So she first headed into the bathroom and then into the break room to see what she could find to eat in the refrigerator. She was sure there would be some sort of left overs in there. Nobody would mind if she had a bite. If they boys weren't back when after she had fed herself, she would call them.

* * *

With food in her hands, the woman walked down the stairs careful not to trip over.

She spoke as she took the last few steps down, "well it seems that Mr Castle is a gentleman. He bought me dinner. Are you jealous Detective Beck…" She had reached the bottom of the stairs only to find the room was empty. The detective that should have been cuffed to the bed was no longer there.

For the second time that day, the food she was holding ended up on the floor.

She picked up the flashlight that had been on the floor since the morning and turned it on shining it around the room. Detective Beckett had definitely escaped. The cuff that had been around her wrist was left open on the bed with the other end still attached to the bed pole.

She picked up the cuff to inspect it. It had not been snapped open, so Kate must have somehow picked it open. She looked around the bed finding nothing. She had no idea how Kate had managed to escape. It was then that she realised maybe she had help and they were waiting for the right moment to bust in on her. She had to get out of there and she had to do it fast.

Even if Kate hadn't gotten help, she had no idea how long Kate had been gone for and she knew she wasn't far from the precinct so she could be back with back up in a matter of seconds.

There was no time to pack up anything or to even take the cuffs off the bed. She knew that the detective had not gotten a great look at her and she was certain she had managed to get out of Castle's loft unnoticed. She knew that even if the cops were able to get prints from the room, they wouldn't be able to trace them back to her. Leaving the room exactly as it was, the woman ran back up the steps and into the street hailing the first cab she could out of there, before she was caught.

* * *

_**Ok, so I know it is probably unlikely that Kate would get to the**_** precinct and not call someone straight away. And I know that there would most likely be others there that would be aware of the situation and would make it known that she is back, but for the purpose of my story, I'm pretending thats not the case. **


	11. Chapter 11

_**Only one chapter to go after this :) ** _

_**Disclaimer: No ownerage (yes that's so totally a word) of Castle for me .  
**_

* * *

Esposito pulled the car into the parking garage, and Castle just about jumped out of the car and ran into the building. He just wanted to get back into the precinct to get information from the taxi company. After not finding anything all day, he felt like he was finally getting closer to finding Kate and holding her in his arms once again.

Esposito and Ryan exchanged glances at the way he ran inside, knowing that Castle would most likely be stopped at the elevator and would have to wait for it. They were right, they reached the elevator just as the doors were opening, and Castle stepped in trying to catch his breath. He may have been following Beckett for more than four years and he was sure he was more fit than he was before but running still left him out of breath.

As the doors opened from the elevator the three boys stepped out together. Taking a few steps towards their desk, Castle held his arms out holding back Ryan and Esposito, who had a second of confusion until they noticed why he had stopped them.

There in front of them, walking out of the break room was Detective Kate Beckett.

They stood there silently, each of them with their eyes wide and not sure whether to believe what they were seeing in front of them.

Beckett walked from the break room, over to her desk and pulled out her spare gun from her draw. She saw the boys and as much as she really wanted to run straight to Castle, she thought she could have a little bit of fun with them so she acted like she had been there all day. She placed the gun in the back of her jeans and started making her way to the elevator.

"Have we really been on a wild goose chase all day or am I going crazy?" Castle whispered as Kate continued walking directly at them.

Kate's eyes met Castles, but there was seriousness in her walk that kept his feet glued to the floor. As she stepped closer, she began to grin. Castle knew that grin, it was that cheeky grin that said she was up to something.

"Come on boys," Kate said as she walked past them. "We have a kidnapper to catch." She pushed the button the elevator and the doors opened immediately.

Castle looked from Esposito then Ryan, then back at Esposito, who just shrugged. They turned back to the elevator to follow Beckett and noticed her waiting, with her finger on the door open button giving them an impatient stare.

Quickly stepping in, she let the doors close and they made their way down stairs.

Castle was staring at her all the way down. He really just wanted to reach out and pull her into his arms, but Kate looked like she was on a mission. He tried with everything he had just to keep his hands to himself.

Kate could feel his eyes on her. She really wanted to reach out to him, but she was having too much fun watching him squirm confused and unsure. She knew how difficult it must have been for him to not touch her so she turned to him smiling.

"Castle, stop staring," she said in a fun, joking way, and gave him a smile which immediately relaxed him.

Before Castle could respond, the doors were opening and the boys led the four of them out, Kate purposely brushed past him, bumping his shoulder with her own before getting into the car.

Kate thought about taking the keys and driving, she was the only one who knew where they were going but she liked the idea of being able to sit in the back with Castle, so she didn't even bother bringing it up.

Esposito took the drivers seat again, while Castle and Beckett climbed in the back seat. Kate started to explain to the boys what had happened that day, where the abandoned building was and how she had managed to escape. As she spoke she felt Castle's hand come over and rest on her own. It was so nice just to be able to feel his touch again. She turned her hand in his and closed her fingers in over his hand, letting him know with just a simple touch that she was okay, and she was still with him.

The trip was just long enough for Kate to explain how she got out of the cuffs and to the precinct all by herself. Once they arrived at the building all four got out of the car. Ryan and Esposito lead the through the garage door and Kate pointed to where the door to the basement was. With their flashlights and guns raised they checked the door to find it unlocked.

Esposito walked swiftly down the stair first calling out to whoever was in the room to freeze.

Ryan, Beckett and Castle were only seconds behind him, but when they reached the bottom of the stairs they found no one in the room. Castle had seen the dinner that had been dropped on the floor and pointed it out to the detectives.

"She's been back, and must have taken off as soon as she knew Kate had escaped, knowing we'd be here."

He looked at Kate and mouthed sorry to her, the looked back down at the floor a little depressed that the woman had gotten away.

"Don't worry Castle," Kate said. "We have her face, her fingerprints, and I'm sure we'll find a lot more down here we can use. She'll turn up again and we'll catch her then." She then turned to the boys, "Are you two good to organize a team to come down and search this place?"

"Yeah, you guys go home. It's been a long day." Esposito said.

"Come on Castle," Beckett said taking his hand in hers. "Take me home with you," she said smiling at him.

They both left the building and took a cab back to Castle's loft.

* * *

_**Just one more small chapter to go. **_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Well, here is the final instalment of this story. I hope you have enjoyed you again to all reviewers, favouriters and followers. Hopefully I'll be back soon with another story... started it yesterday and I'm quite excited to see how it goes.  
**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters. **_

* * *

Kate rested her head on Rick's chest back in the safety of his arms as they sat resting against the headboard of his bed. They had triple checked every room to ensure they were alone and had given a picture of the kidnapper to the door person to ensure she would not come in un noticed. Ryan and Esposito had arranged for a detail to be watching the building also just to give them some extra protection until the woman was found.

One of Rick's arms were around Kate's shoulders and he was running his fingers up and down her arm.

Kate could sense that there was something wrong. He was silent and his mind seemed to have wandered somewhere else.

"Rick…? Is everything okay? Come on, time to sleep," she said softly.

"I can't go to sleep right now," he responded. "There's a crazy lady out there who wants to kidnap you."

Kate looked up at him and as he felt her moved he lowered his eyes to look back at her.

"I don't know. I don't think she's going to try it again. The NYPD have her face, and her fingerprints. Not only that, you said that you have seen her yourself, and she's going to know that you are looking for her now. I can't see her following you around again. As soon as we find her, she'll be locked up. Tomorrow we are going to go over everything from today and I'm positive she will have messed up somewhere. Maybe the first lot of dinner she bought was paid with her credit card, until you had to knock it out of her hands and replace it. We'll get her name and then there'll be no way to escape us."

"Hmmm…." He leaned down to kiss her temple. "But I'm still allowed to worry about you."

"Yes, you are still allowed to worry about me," Kate responded rolling her eyes. There was a moment of silence before she started speaking again. "You know, I worry about you too. When I was cuffed today and didn't think I could get away, I wasn't worried for myself, I was worried for you. I was worried you were going to do something stupid and follow a lead unprepared and get yourself hurt."

Castle started to open his mouth, but Kate lifted her hands and held it closed.

"No Castle, don't try and deny it. I know you, and I know it wouldn't matter what anyone said. No one would have been able to stop you from making silly choices if it got you one step closer to having me back."

She let go of his lips allowing him to speak again.

"If you think about it, it's some of those silly choices that have kept you safe on occasion," Rick said smiling.

"Well then, I should thank you for making **some **of those silly choices, but I still worry. I may not show it, but every second we're out making arrests or going to pick up subjects, I worry about you getting hurt."

"Kate, you don't need to worry about me, I've got you…" Rick lifted his free hand and lightly pressed her nose, as people often do to children, "to protect me."

"Well that's lucky for you then," she said smiling and then her face got serious again. "It's just… I seem… I guess…" She knew what she wanted to say, but she had no idea how to say it. There was no way of putting what she was feeling into words. She looked down briefly and felt a tear run down her cheek.

Noticing the tear Rick wrapped his arm tighter around Kate and pulled her closer to his chest, bringing his other arm up over her also, helping her feel safe. They stayed there silent for a few moments.

"Kate," Rick whispered, lifting her head up to look up at him again. He smiled down at her and kissed her softly. Wiping away the tears that had made their way down her cheeks, he kept talking softly, "You were really worried about me today? When you should have been just thinking about yourself?"

"I love you Rick. And when you love someone…" she looked down again.

"You can not help but worry about them." Rick finished for her.

"Exactly," she looked up again, knowing that Rick completely understood her.

Rick lifted his arm again, and tucked Kate's hair behind her ear. "I know exactly what you mean. I worry about you all the time as well."

"Gosh, what a pair we are!" Kate said giggling, rested her head back on Castle's chest, and lightly placing her hand on his chest.

Again, the lay there silently for a minute or two.

Castle just sat there listing to Kate's breathing. "So… you love me huh?" he said slightly squeezing her.

"Yeah, I guess I do," she said wrapping her arms more tightly across his chest.

"Awesome!" Castle replied, knowing it was going to result in one of Kate's glares. And it did.

He smiled sweetly at her, "I love you too Kate," he said as he slowly lowered himself down further into the bed so that he was laying on his back with Kate wrapped against him. Just before he was completely lying down he rolled Kate onto her back and rolled towards her. He let his legs tangle with hers and lifted himself over her resting his weight on his arms. He was so close, but not quite close enough for their lips to be touching. He whispered on her lips, "say it again, Kate."

"I love you," she said and he lowered his lips to meet hers kissing her passionately.

Right then, Kate knew that there was definitely nothing that was going to keep her from being with Castle. She had never felt more in love that she did at that moment.

After a moment, Castle pulled away. Kate still had her eyes closed as he said "By the way… Captain Gates knows!"

Kate's eyes opened wide but before she could say another word, Castle lips were on hers again.

* * *

_**And that's it. I hope you enjoyed it. **_

_**No, we never really did know who the woman was... maybe we'll find out another time.  
**_


End file.
